Election Safety 101: Practical Safety Tips for the Forthcoming Elections
On Saturday 25th of February 2023, Mrs Jennifer Efidi set out to exercise her civic right—to vote for the candidate of her choice. Little did she know that violence was waiting for her at the polling booth. According to her, she was waiting, like everyone else, for INEC to set-up voting apparatuses when she suddenly felt a huge impact on her face. She had been macheted! The nearly-fatal strike led to a deep gash on her head, just beside her temples. By that miraculous miss—on the part of the senseless and vicious hoodlums, she escaped blindness and possible death by the whiskers.
For Mrs Ruth Osah, a pregnant lady—the miraculous protection that Mrs. Efidi enjoyed, most unfortunately, did not extend to her. She too, had come out to exercise her civic responsibility but was felled by the bullets of thugs who attacked her polling unit in order to snatch ballot boxes consequently disenfranchising voters.
The death of Mrs Ruth Osah and so many others, whose only crime was coming out to exercise their civic responsibility was no fault of theirs. Rather, it's as a result of the failure of leadership of the Buhari-led administration which has been characterized by the breakdown of the country's security infrastructure. The security forces' abject failure in protecting the lives of citizens' perfectly illustrates just how utterly disastrous Muhammed Buhari's administration has been.
Nobody prays for a fate like the one that befell the unsung fallen heroes of the presidential and national assembly elections. However, considering the unpredictable and volatile nature of voting in Nigeria and the perennial issue of national insecurity, here are some safety recommendations for Saturday’s election.
1. Don't leave too early:
Be aware that thugs aren't the only maniacs roaming the streets. Criminals of all stripes, including rapists and robbers, are skulking about looking for a victim. Do not fall into their hands by leaving your house too early. Wait till the day has brightened noticeably before hitting the road. By doing this, you may see the faces of the people who are walking in front of or behind you and decide how best to react if any of them begins acting strangely.
2. Find a person to accompany you to/fro:
Don't walk alone to the polling unit. Locate someone who shares your enthusiasm and walk with him/her. If you walk alone to the polling unit, you make yourself an easy target. Remember, it's not only thugs who can attack people on that day. Phone-thieves, robbers, etc will not take the day off because it's an election day. Instead, they'd be more emboldened because elections brings quietude and scantily-peopled streets— which is the ideal environment for an assault.
3. Indicate to your Loved Ones where you are headed:
This is not the time to play hide and seek with your movement. You could consider that when you’re scheduled for coitus-related appointments. Now, the polity is heated. People are on the edge. Ergo, it would do you a world of good to let your loved ones know when you are leaving the house to vote. Nigeria has a raging missing persons epidemic. The Nigerian Police has a relatively low success rate in finding missing people. It would bode well on you to not add to the ever-growing list of missing persons in Nigeria.
4. Avoid wearing any attire that bears the logos, patterns, or symbols of any political party to the polling unit. I know the ‘Ellu P' jersey is trendy and fashionable but leave it at home. When you’re done voting and have returned home safely, you can use it to pepper Agbadorians.
5. Take advantage of Twitter, Publish all that's occuring at the PU:
Twitter can be used for more than sharing ludicrous-sexually explicit images, videos and memes. People can also use it to protect themselves from more harm. How so? In the unfortunate event that a person or (group of persons) is attacked, Twitter users can band together to assist the victimized parties.
Additionally, make sure to share photos, videos, and written accounts of everything that happens in your polling unit. Each of your tweets has a time stamp thanks to a feature on Twitter. In this manner, it will be easy to verify the accuracy of your tweets.
6. Make Friends at the PU:
Don't sit idly pressing your phone. Engage people. People are more likely to assist someone they know or are linked to if violence unfortunately breaks out.
7. Have water, it will keep you hydrated:
It'll be a long, gruelling process. Better to be on your feet, battered by the sun, beads of sweat streaming down your face with fetid perspiration enveloping your essence than lying down in an unventilated room, barely clad— with numerous elderly people and people you do not know taking turns on administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on you.
8. Have cash. I know this is a tall order given the times we are in but it's necessary.
9. Avoid provoking discussions, debates, and fights regarding political parties, political candidates, tribalism, bigotry, and other such topics.
If you’re smart enough, you’d realize how extremely volatile the political climate is right now. It wouldn’t make sense to end up as a casualty only because you couldn’t keep your thoughts to yourself.
10. Don't play the Hero:
You are not Jesus, Muhammed (PBUH) or Neuer. Don't play yourself, once you notice the presence of heavily-armed thugs,
Run!
I don't think this can be overemphasized. You stand absolutely no chance against a gun-wielding, drug-adled maniac. In his sight, you're the niggling impediment to his next fix and I'm pretty sure you understand that nothing can stop a dedicated junkie from getting his next high. Better to be the coward who didn't defend his votes. At the very least, you'd be in the company of fellow cowards, alive and well than to end up dead and then be posthumously remembered as a hero.
Newsflash: Nigeria is no place for Heroes.
Here, heroes are murdered by the state. Never to be immortalized, they're briefly remembered only when it suits the narrative of state-controlled surrogates.
The potential of the aforementioned safety tips to make you feel secure has been confirmed by respectable security authorities, but they are not foolproof. The Nigerian state remains poignantly unpredictable. In a flash of seconds, literally anything can happen. You could be attacked by an overfed snake, fresh from stealing 36 million naira or be labeled a criminal by a Police Officer who cannot tell the difference between voting-age children and adults. Even worse, you might wake up, on the day of election— to discover that the road leading to your house has been destroyed simply because you allegedly pose a 'security threat' to the state.
Therefore, it is in your best interest to be on guard at the polling unit. Never be reluctant to take all necessary precautions to protect yourself.
Remember, this is Nigeria. No one is coming to save you.
